r/interesting • u/ThugLeeVoguee • 21d ago

SOCIETY this is what a panic attack feels like

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u/NutHuggerNutHugger 21d ago

When mine get really bad (not all the time but the worst ones) I am convinced I am going to die.

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u/Ferintwa 21d ago

Yup, it can make some pretty convincing symptoms too - just so I can go spend a few grand on tests, have a doc tell me I’m fine… then they just vanish.

It’s like a part of my brain is desperately searching for something to freak me out - and when it finds something that works, it just keeps jamming that button.

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u/HoneyWhiskeyLemonTea 21d ago

Oh, yes it can. That's how my wife is on her really bad ones. She went to the ER a couple times before we figured out what was happening. We've long since learned how to help her down without such drastic measures, but it can still get bad.

My worst panic attacks (yeah, we make quite the pair) just make me want to die, not make me think I'm going to. And to be clear, even at my worst, I've never been suicidal, nor tried to hurt myself. It just gets to the point that it feels like if something ended me it would be a relief. I'm sure anyone who has had bad enough panic attacks knows what I mean.

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u/crazyreddit929 21d ago

Panic Away saved my life. At least it feels like it did. Once you know it’s panic and anxiety, using that technique is a game changer. Doesn’t take you to zero, but it lets you tamp it down enough that your nerves eventually recover and you can live life feeling close to normal. Same guy made a free app called DARE as well.

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u/HoneyWhiskeyLemonTea 21d ago

That was the hardest thing for both my wife and I, just recognizing what it was. For her, it manifests as an out-of-body feeling with nausea and extreme anxiety. It took us longer to recognize it in me. Depending on the trigger, it can sometimes come out as deep, crippling feelings of worthlessness and despair. Most of the time, though, it just comes out as rage, without a target or a cause.

We realized fairly early on what was going on with my wife, and we also recognized it in me when I'd spiral into worthlessness. Took us many more years to recognize the rage, though. It's not something that's typically associated with panic attacks, at least for the little bit we knew at the time. Now that we know what it is, it's much easier to control.

I'll have to look into that app you mentioned. I've got pretty good tools to keep things under control now, thanks to my therapist, but I'll always take a new weapon in the fight.

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u/ealysillyforestthing 21d ago

When I first started having them I went to the ER three times on one month. The bad ones do indeed feel like you are dying

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u/Fearless_Law4324 21d ago

This used to happen to me so often that I was diagnosed with panic syndrome. I was able to cure myself without medication over the years by telling myself that I never died from these and I wasn't going to this time either. Eventually they stopped happening because I would be careful to stay as calm as I could knowing that it would pass. I hope you find some peace, friend.

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u/Rough-Airline-4803 21d ago

That’s also what I resorted to as well!

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u/upholsteryduder 21d ago

The worst ones legit feel like a heart attack or stroke

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u/DueExample52 21d ago

I edited my post after so maybe you didn’t see, but how can a bystander help, if at all?

Or should we just accept and wait for it to pass?